Page 16 - Landscape-Issue127

PROJECT

Hemp blocks

Hemp hurd or shives are the chopped up, woody core
of the hemp plant. When mixed with a lime binder,
they become a composite building material known as
Hemp lime plaster and hempcrete blocks hempcrete.

Bio-based construction and make hempcrete, which is an energy-efficient the climate-friendly choice of construction
sustainability material with excellent insulation properties. material for builders and developers looking
Hemp construction is considered the gold This means that buildings constructed with for sustainable and greener ways to build.”
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standard for the reduction of CO emissions hempcrete require less energy for heating Wolf and Wolf Architects is an architectural
and the construction of hemp blocks is a and cooling, reducing energy consumption design firm focusing on contemporary
viable way to commercialise hemp in the and carbon emissions. sustainable architecture and interiors. They
construction industry. The benefits of using Another advantage of hempcrete is that have a strong focus on sustainable building
it in a multi-storey building are the following: it can be re-used or recycled at the end of methodologies and materials and are
• hemp is 100% natural, CO absorbing, its lifespan. It can also be crushed and used actively pioneering and promoting the use
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durable and energy-saving; as a soil conditioner, returning valuable of industrial hemp and timber in the South
• its superior acoustic performance ensures nutrients to the earth. It is not intended to African building industry.
privacy between units; replace traditional building materials such Says Wolf: “We have been building with
• it has strong vapour permeability and its as steel and cement for a building’s frame hemp since 2008 and in the last three years
ability to easily absorb and release moisture and substructure; rather it is used as the infill we have witnessed an exponential increase
assists with regulating the building’s material, providing insulation. in the interest in hemp as a construction
internal humidity, thus maintaining a material. We believe that hemp will play a
healthy indoor air quality; About the participants major role in the reduction of global CO as an
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• the lower density of the hemp blocks Duncan Parker is a co-founder of the firm efficient bio-based building material.”
reduces the load of the walls on the Hemporium, which has been a pioneer in Afrimat Hemp, a pioneer of the industrial
foundation and therefore the cost of the hemp industry in South Africa since 1996. hemp value chain in Africa, specialises in
concrete; and He has been interested in the possibility hemp decortation and processing, natural
• using hemp blocks reduces the CO 2 of construction using this natural material building materials, bulk processed hemp
footprint of the building, as well as its for many decades, and 84 on Harrington and natural fibres. It focuses on carbon-
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operational CO footprint. has provided the ideal opportunity to neutral construction and unlocking value
demonstrate the successful use of hemp in a in the industrial hemp sector. MD Boshoff
Hemp plants grow quickly and require building of significant size. Muller says: “We have developed our own
minimal water and pesticides, making them Says Parker: “It is encouraging that formulated lime binder for hempcrete and we
an ideal crop for sustainable farming. The the government recently recognised the are producing hempcrete blocks at one of our
plant absorbs large amounts of carbon importance of the hemp industry to South commercial plants.”
dioxide during its growth, and the woody core Africa, with the possibility of 100 000 jobs Text supplied by Hemporium, Wolf & Wolf
is used to make hempcrete. In addition to this being created. I think that once the supply Architects and Afrimat Hemp. Photos supplied by
woody core, water and lime binder are used to issues have been resolved, hemp will become Afrimat Hemp. n

14 Landscape SA • Issue 127 2023